Melanie Perkins launches initiative to crowdsource community priorities
Billionaire Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins will implement the feedback mechanism that helped bring the $100 billion design company into public life, launching a global platform on Friday that asks communities what’s important to them.
Canva’s Global Goals Platform will ask one question: “What is one goal you want to achieve in your lifetime?” and will publish where the answers overlap in what Perkins describes as one of the most important initiatives in the company’s history.
The idea comes directly from the way Canva works. The company receives approximately 4 million feedback from users every year; Some of them provide new features in their software and then email the person asking about it happening.
“They can’t believe we actually listened to them,” said Perkins. “We think that sentiment and inviting people to co-develop Canva is really effective. But we don’t always see that in the way we interact with the government.”
This is an unusual proposition: a mechanism designed for 265 million monthly users can switch to democratic priorities by choosing from graphic design templates. Perkins has been toying with the idea for more than 10 years.
The first test is the city of Wollongong, just south of Sydney, which hosted Canva’s first user tests more than a decade ago.
From July 24, more than 220,000 residents will be invited to submit what they want for their community in partnership with Wollongong City Council.
“Wollongong was definitely near and dear to our hearts,” said Perkins. “They have been an extraordinarily innovative council and have been really great to work with.”
Lord Mayor Tania Brown said the council had a strong record of involvement but knew its limits. “There are always voices we can’t hear,” he said. “This is an opportunity for people to develop a new perspective on local government and an understanding of how they can help drive the future of Wollongong.”
The council is under no obligation to adopt ideas submitted through the platform, which is funded by both the city and Canva. “This is definitely just the first step,” Perkins said. “Achieving any of these goals will definitely be a collective effort.”
A second pilot study will be conducted in the United States with the Advertising Council, a nonprofit organization that promotes good causes, by matching open submissions with nationally representative surveys to be conducted in September. Both will contribute to a report to be published later this year.
Initial reactions raised demands for more native plants in community spaces and the neighborhood.
The platform builds on the Canva Foundation’s work in Malawi; where more than 130,000 people received unconditional cash transfers of approximately $550 ($785) each through the nonprofit organization GiveDirectly, which has received $50 million in funding from the foundation since 2021. Canva says 90 percent of people reached now live above the extreme poverty line.
Households are tracked according to what Perkins describes as “guiding stars”: a dry roof, a comfortable place to sleep, two meals a day.
The premise here is that people know what they need without being told. Perkins’ philosophy differs from the approach of tech billionaire Elon Musk, where money is directed towards a specific vision of the world.
“Instead of saying I think someone who lives in a rural community in Malawi needs XYZ, actually there is some money here, how do you want to spend it?” Perkins said. “I think that’s a really important way for us to think about it rather than just me thinking that I know other people better.”
Canva’s foundation has invested more than $100 million since Perkins and Obrecht They vowed to donate the majority of their wealth in 2021as well as $2.5 billion worth of subscriptions donated to schools and charities.
When asked what happens if the pilot programs don’t work, Perkins said that’s the purpose of the pilot. “I’m sure we will learn a lot throughout the process.”
In Australia, politicians at all levels already have many ways to get feedback from their voters. Many meet them in person, scan their social media feeds, and receive direct correspondence.
Despite increasing political polarization, trust in government in Australia remains high by global standards. Data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a club of mostly wealthy countries, showed that 49 per cent of Australians expressed confidence in the national government in 2024; This rate was well above France’s 37 percent and the United States’ 29 percent. However, the trust percentage is lower than in 2006, when 53 per cent of Australians trusted the government.
It’s been a year since Canva embarked on an AI-focused rebuild with its valuation under review, and Obrecht told this imprint in April that a Nasdaq listing would likely happen in 2027. When asked what would determine the timing, Perkins said: “There’s nothing exciting to report.”
More willing to talk about the other topic. “If we don’t imagine a better world, you can’t create it.”
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David Swan is the technology editor of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously technology editor of The Australian newspaper.Connect with: X or email.
